Fact: Anyone can get colorectal cancer. Fact: More than 148,000 Americans are diagnosed with colorectal cancer annually. Fact: Colorectal cancer can be prevented or successfully treated when detected early.
That is why Houston Northwest Medical Center is offering free EZ-detect colon cancer kits during the month of March, which is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. Call 281-580-0000 for your free kit today. Limit two kits per household, please. Kits are available while supplies last. $7.99 retail value.
The American Cancer Society recommends that adults be screened for the disease starting at age 50. If you have a family or personal history that puts you at higher risk for colorectal cancer, you may need earlier or more frequent screenings. Factors that may affect a person’s likelihood of developing the disease include a family or personal history of colorectal cancer, being over the age of 50, high fat diet, lack of exercise, obesity, smoking, and previous intestinal polyps or chronic inflammatory conditions, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
“People may not want to talk about colorectal cancer, but they can take action to be screened for the disease,” says Donald Butts, M.D., colon and rectal surgeon on the medical staff at Houston Northwest Medical Center. “By being screened, people are taking a proactive step in managing a disease that has a five-year relative survival rate of 90 percent when detected and treated at a localized stage.”
The EZ-detect kit is simple, sanitary, and can be done in the privacy of home. No lab processing or stool handling is necessary, and there are no dietary restrictions before or during the testing period. The test takes only minutes to perform and does not require a doctor’s visit. However, an easy-to-read results card can be completed and sent to your physician if you have a positive stool test result.
Excluding skin cancers, colorectal cancer is the third most common type of cancer diagnosed in the United States. Colorectal cancer occurs when abnormal cells begin to grow in the colon or rectum. While this process can take several years, most colorectal cancers begin as a small pre-cancerous growth known as a polyp. The majority of people with colorectal cancer do not know they have the disease because they have no symptoms until the cancer reaches an advanced stage.
For more information about colorectal cancer, take Houston Northwest Medical Center’s free online Colorectal Cancer Risk Assessment at www.hnmc.com/coloncancerrisks.
# # #
About Houston Northwest Medical Center
Houston Northwest Medical Center is located at 710 F.M. 1960 West in Houston. The hospital has been serving the north Houston community for more than 35 years, providing a wide range of medical services that includes cardiology, maternity care, neonatal intensive unit, pediatrics, bariatrics and neurology. Houston Northwest Medical Center is the only hospital in Houston designated a Cycle III Accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers and is among an elite group of hospitals nationwide – and only two in Texas – named by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement as a Mentor Hospital for heart attack. The hospital is also recognized by the American Heart Association with the Get With The Guidelines–Gold Performance Achievement Awards for Coronary Artery Disease and Heart Failure. Houston Northwest Medical Center is the only hospital in Texas to be recognized as a Certified Quality Breast Center of Excellence™ by the National Consortium of Breast Centers. The hospital is also designated a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. To learn more about Houston Northwest Medical Center, a facility accredited by The Joint Commission, visit www.hnmc.com.